>> bank customers empty cash machines as cyprus debates a multinational bailout. hello. you are watching al jazeera, live from doha. , china's new president announces a great renaissance for his nation in his first speech as head of state. boats are being counted after zimbabwe's referendum, which could change -- votes are being counted after zimbabwe's referendum, which could change the way the country is governed. live pictures of st. peter's square for the first mass given

by the new pope. is doubt over whether a controversial bailout for cyprus will be passed by the nation parliament -- the nation's parliament. trying tobeen withdraw as much cash as possible because they may soon have to pay up to 10% of their savings to the government. this is one of the conditions that has been set up by the eurozone, part of its $13 billion rescue package. the proposed bailout has sparked outrage. one account holder has threatened to knock down the bank with a bulldozer. people have been pulling out as much of their savings as they can before the agreement goes into effect. the situation is unacceptable. they have deceived the people by saying they would not touch

the deposits. >> why should they take our money? i cannot understand this. we work and we deposit our money for our own purposes, and they come to take our money. this is unfair. >> for a look at how this is going to work -- people with savings less than 100,000 euros, $130,000 >> will have to pay a levy of 6.75%. those with anything more in their accounts will be 9.9%.tting -- forfeiting this measure will raise 5.8 billion euros, around $7.5 billion. if cyprus chooses not to implement the terms of this bailout, it faces a decade of recession. >> i think this is about trying to spread the burden of the a you and, especially -- of that you and the german -- of the e and the germans.

because of the issue, there are perceptions of the cost structure of a lot of differences. there are perceptions that this is all dirty money. the government says they have nothing to hide. there will be an audit to confirm whether the perceptions are true or not. this is why the president had to say yes to this. it is a choice between two banks between -- between two banks collapsing and a tenure recession. cyprus has a very big debt payment on june 3 and a cannot pay that without the bailout money -- and it cannot pay that without the bailout money. you want a two-your possession -- recession or -- do you want a two-year recession or a tenure recession?

>> under particular scrutiny is the billions of dollars that flow between russia and cyprus. $32 billion are controlled by cyprus-based russian companies. the money is constantly being transferred. in 2011, nearly $120 billion went from russia into cyprus. $130 billion was then sent back to russia. more than five times the island's annual output. china's new president is vowing to tackle hedonism, extravagance, and corruption in the government. in his first speech as head of state, xi jinping also spoke of overseeing a chinese renaissance. >> with a farewell bow from outgoing president who gentile, the power transfer in china is complete -- president hu jintao , the power transfer in china is complete. >> we must continuously realize

>> protect, and develop the most fundamental interests of people and develop the entire country, and make the fruits of development include all the people in a fairer way. >> the new government says it will fight corruption. quick action is needed to show that xi jinping means business. >> the fusco movie will make his and he -- the first move he will make is on the anticorruption front. if he is able to arrest senior officials, corrupt officials, then he may be able to win an element of trust from the people. but it is difficult. most of his friends and cronies are members of the so-called red aristocracy. >> the chinese leaders have set up their lofty goals for the next 10 years, but there will be steps that need to be achieved before they can think about reform and that chinese dream.

they need the support of party elders and those who have established alliances. >> typically, new leaders lead -- need time to consolidate their power, to enhance their own popularity and appeal before they have the confidence to initiate significant policy changes. >> tasked with the day-to-day operation of china, the premier said his focus is on economic growth. >> the highest priority will be to maintain sustainable economic growth. this can be expected. the economic environment facing china will continue to be serious and complex. we must be prepared for potential adversity and handle the changing situation in a calm fashion. >> china's growth may have slowed, but it is still the envy of many nations. for long-term prosperity, it's going to need to focus on building up its domestic consumption and shrinking the

wealth gap. al jazeera, hong kong. >> in southern iraq, a bomb blast has killed at least seven people. another 13 were injured. it is 20 miles -- kilometers from boz rust city -- basra s city. a syrian army general has defected to the opposition. lufeo shows mohammed khalu defecting. activists say he was the army's logistics chief. fighters say they have captured arms stores after three days of fighting, but most of the ammunition had already been removed. in rainy and-made weapons were also reportedly found -- iranian-made weapons were also reportedly found. prime minister netanyahu appointed the new defense minister before the government

takes charge on monday. netanyahu has finally been able to form a coalition government on friday, after weeks of deadlock. votes are being counted in zimbabwe after arendt -- a referendum which could weigh -- a referendum which could weigh -- could change the way the government is structured. the president and prime minister show united front. many zimbabwe ends don't fully understand -- zimbabweans don't fully understand what they are voting to change. >> there is a difference [inaudible] this is owned by the state. it has the headline, thousands decide on constitution. many people showed up to vote on the referendum. , -- low low turnout

turnout mars referendum height. marsight -- low turnout freferendum hype. andvotes are being counted verified on the stage. when that is done, they are put back into the ballot boxes, which are then sealed. they will be taken to the headquarters of the sub -- the zimbabwe electoral commission. out in a have results few days. >> let's go live now to the vatican city. we have some pictures for you , where. peter's square there are thousands of people listening to the new pope delivering his first angeles angelus prayer. what a great shot.

joining us now, from just utside the square, hoda abdel hamid. tell us what the pope has been saying. >> he talked a lot about the need for pardon and mercy. >> through his angelus, the whole square had -- there were comments that made the whole square laugh. earlier, he talked about a book that centered around the issue of mercy. he said, it's not that i'm making up any publicity for you to go and buy the book of one of my cardinals. he is confirming this personality that people have been seeing ever since he became pope, of a man who likes to talk to the people.

they don't know what he's going to say next, and i think that is one of his strengths. this has been peppered with cheers and clapping throughout. >> hoda, thanks very much for bringing us the scene from st. peter's square, where crowds are delighted in listening -- crowds are delighting in listening to his first angelus delivered from that balcony. the crowd of thousands of people in st. peter's square. pakistan's prime minister has addressed the nation after his government became the first in history -- in pakistan's history to complete a full, five-year term. elections are due to be held in the next two months. the pasttrue that in five years, we have not been able to flow rivers of milk and honey in the country, but we have tried to control the number of problems we have had.

we have used our resources to strengthen the foundations of democracy. today, democracy is so strong that no one will air to dislodge it in the future. >> how does the process work? a prime minister has to be nominated within eight days. the outgoing prime minister has three days to agree on an interim government -- the outgoing prime minister and the leader of the opposition has three days to agree on an interim government. if they cannot agree, .arliament must make a decision if they cannot agree, the election commission must make a decision. providing security to the people will take more than five years. >> today, we are really proud to announce that we have accomplished what the recent government has done. this is a landmark administration. we have a way forward.

the dictators are out for good now. the system has been -- it has been done in such away that that there is no room for any kind of illegal takeover. security concerns are still there. .t is not an easy thing the security concern is an international pressure on pakistan. internal just the forces. outside forces are also responsible for the law and order situation. on this to come program, what's in a name in south africa? afrikaners say that history is being rewritten. >> i'm at the sight of one of the largest repositories for nuclear waste in the u.s. there are concerns that some of that waste is leaking into the environment.

>> hello. welcome back. the weather across europe splits nicely into three. eastern areas, very active weather systems. central areas looking largely drive. -- dry. out to the west, an area of low pressure moving in, pushing across the uk and in towards france and germany. it is here where we are likely to see significant snowfall developing over the next couple days. for the northern parts of germany in particular, but also down towards the alps, who could see between 20 centimeters and 40 centimeters of snow. there will be some snow developing across much of scotland into northern parts of england. looking very unsettled across much of france and northern parts of the iberian peninsula. you can see that it is looking

pretty dry in the more central areas, but it should be bright. still some snow in eastern areas. as we move into northern parts of africa, some areas pick up a bit of a desert wind. it should be warm and bright, i high of 26. the wind is blowing on the coast about. on the coast of algeria and tunisia.

>> hello, again. our top stories on al jazeera. in cyprus, bank customers have rushed to empty cash machines because of a planned tax on their savings. the president says it is needed to avoid bankruptcy.

china's new leaders have promised to tackle corruption and keep the economy growing. in his first speech as head of state, xi jinping also spoke of overseeing a chinese renaissance. politicians in pakistan are hoping to reach agreement for an interim government to oversee elections. the prime minister has addressed the nation after his government became the first in the nation's history to serve a full five-year term. more radioactive waste is leaking from the most contaminated nuclear site in the united states. another 2000 liters of waste have recently spilled. over 4 million liters since the 1940's. we have this report from washington state. >> this is the edge of the hanford nuclear station in washington state, a 1500 square kilometers site, with the

dubious distinction of being the most contaminated place in america. recently, the government disclosed that six large underground tanks are leaking up radioactive of waste each year. it alarms environmentalists, who fear that it could pass into groundwater in a nearby river. >> the tank leaks are shocking, the size and number. the fact that the department of energy did not know about this or they were not looking at the monitoring close enough or they did not disclose it to the public soon enough you >> officials -- soon enough. >> officials say the leaks pose no immediate danger. environmentalists want to see better oversight of the hanford cleanup effort >> which has been underway for two decades, at a cost of $2 billion per year. the nine nuclear read actors -- reactors turned out uranium for the nuclear weapons program,

producing more than 60,000 warheads. the volume of waste is staggering. of solidubic meters nuclear waste. nearly 4 million liters of liquid have leaked, it enough to fill 20,000 bathtubs. the u.s. department of energy turned down al jazeera's request to film on the site. they also said no one we asked to interview the officials responsible for the cleanup -- no when we asked to interview the officials responsible for the cleanup. >> the state is extremely concerned that radioactive materials are being released in the environment. we expect the department of energy to do something about that. >> the town nearest the hanford is close by the site, so much so that the -- is closely tied to the site, so much so that the basketball team is called the bombers.

people here have learned to live with waste next door. >> fearful of it, no. respectful of it, yes. >> he is a member of the economic development council. he believes it could be, and tourist attraction. >> we have been working to make it a manhattan project national park. >> the plutonium produced at hanford will remain lethally radioactive for more than 80 million years. al jazeera, hanford, washington. >> voters will go to the pull to elect a new president following the death of hugo chavez. many of the country's poor are worried that social programs may be under threat. we have this report from caracas. >> high above the glass towers of caracas sits this neighborhood, one of the poorest communities in venezuela. here feel it is a

hopeful place. and comprehensive care and medical centers, services that would otherwise be out of reach. it is all down to one man. >> the people here have a debt to chavez because we could not have achieved all that we have without him. i'm worried about the future because we still have so much to do. because of chavez's death, we realize we have to keep fighting, more than before. >> it is social projects like housing, supermarkets, and free paid for withtly oil revenues, that were a signal of chavez's revolution. this woman is ankle for the opportunities she has been given. -- is bank full for the -- is thankful for the opportunities she has been given. >> the people here woke up when

the revolution came. before chavez, all the social programs were far away from us. >> there is no question in a neighbor like this that -- neighborhood like this that the lies were improved by programs championed by hugo chavez. the venezuelan economy is in danger. the very social programs these neighborhoods need so badly may be in danger, especially without chavez. economists -- and economist economist says the oil profits have been squandered. >> it has not created a strong economy. this is not the objective. what they want is to destroy the private economy and to build the communal economy. ri,for the people in pata

there's a lot at stake in the election. both candidates have promised to keep funding social programs, but the economic reality may mean cuts. that would make life here in even harder. al jazeera, caracas. bia, authorities into the jungle to recover cocaine. the confiscated drug has a street value of at least $90 million and was destined for uses in the united states. three months after typhoon bopha hit the philippines, millions of people are still dealing with its effects. among them, banana farmers, who say it will take them at least two years to recover. we meet some of the people who defend on the fruit for their income -- depend on the fruit for their income. >> this is a banana plantation.

all of it was devastated when typhoon bopha hit. with the packing shutdown and employees laid off, he feels helpless. in ours not even imagination. we never thought such devastation could happen to us. everything was gone in an instant. >> typhoon bopha was the strongest to ever hit the southern philippines it killed the southernple -- philippines. it killed over 1000 people. the region depends on the banana industry for their livelihood. the philippines is the world's third biggest reducer of bananas. with one/four of the crops damaged last year -- 1/4 of the crops damaged last year, it is estimated that -- of the harvest has been lost. the typhoon means the worst for an industry that was already in

trouble. growers had been battling the outbreak of disease and a chinese ban on philippine banana imports. the government says a recovery plan is in place. >> definitely, they are in disk drives -- they are in distress. the government has been trying to help them recover. >> authorities hope citations will be up and running in about a year. many here -- hope plantations will be up and running in about a year. many here fear it will take much longer. al jazeera, southern philippines. >> myanmar's president has arrived in australia, the first visit by a leader from the country formerly known as burma since the 19 -- since 1974. he is expected to meet prime minister julia gillard in the next few days. they have announced increased aid for myanmar.

for some in south africa, the names of streets, suburbs, and cities are an important reminder of history. many places are now known by two names, one in africans, the other in indigenous language. there is one group fighting the trend. >> pretoria was the seat of the former apartheid government. it's street names reflect that. been renamed.ave it follows the renaming of many towns and airports since the fall of apartheid. it is taking the municipal government to court. >> it is clearly a political move by the ruling party and the city government to rewrite south africa's history. these street names that are being changed obviously cost millions of rand while we have a huge crisis in terms of education. >> by leaving the old names up alongside the new, the municipality is hoping to avoid

confusion. >> we don't know the lady or the man that the name is changed to. >> i think it is just a waste of time. >> the municipal government says it has given up trying to change pretoria's name because of strong, public opposition. it's saying that the -- it is saying that the new street names are necessary to modernize society. thehis city represents , and thety, the ethos diversity of our country. >> a few afrikaans names are among the signs. a man whose name brings back bad memories for many people -- he has been replaced by an afrikaner turks leader who was critical of apartheid -- church leader who was a critical of

aparthei